The Hindu : Sport / Chess : India goes empty-handed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 09, 2004

Sport

Sport - Chess

India goes empty-handed

By P. K. Ajith Kumar

KOZHIKODE, JULY 8. The Indians did wake up in the end but it turned out to be a bit too late, as the host failed to win a medal in the 10th Youth Chess Olympiad, despite its `A' and `B' teams scoring fine victories in the final round on Thursday.

India `A' shocked holder Hungary 2.5-1.5, but had to settle for the fourth place. The team scored 22 points, the same as Uzbekistan, which was awarded the bronze by virtue of its superior match points.

The gold and silver were of course long foregone conclusions, as China successfully defended its title with 27 points while Hungary finished runner-up with 24.

China won 2.5-1.5 against India `C', for which Sriram Sarja posted a memorable win against a much higher rated Zhou Jianchao on the second board.

India `B' took the fifth place after beating Iran 2.5-1.5. Among the four other teams fielded by the host, India `E' fared the best, finishing ninth.

Not surprisingly, China dominated the individual board prizes as well, with Wang Hao taking the first board, Zhou Jianchao, the second, and Li Chao, the fourth. Kazakhstan's D. Issabayev took the prize on the third board, while on the fifth, Malaysia's Nur Shazwani Zullkafli came first.

India's fate depended upon the second board game in the match between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. A draw or a defeat for the Uzbek player, Dzhubarek Khamrakulov would've given India `A' the bronze. And the knight-pawn ending was heading towards an inevitable draw, when the Kazakhstan lad D. Medirbaev blundered and lost.

The results (ninth round):

China bt India `C' 2.5-1.5 (Wang Hao bt Soumy Swaminathan, Zhou Jianchao lost to Sriram Sarja, Xiu Desun bt K. Priyadrashan, Li Chao drew with P. Sivasankari); India `A' bt Hungary 2.5-1.5 (S. Arun Prasad drew with Tamas Banusz, G.N. Gopal drew with Denes Boros, T. Abhay bt David Berczes, Rahul Sangma drew with Kristian Szabo); India `B' bt Iran 2.5-1.5 (K. Vijay Keerthi lost to Atousa Pourkashiyan, Pratik Shriwas bt Homayoon Toufighi, Parimarjan Negi drew with Arash Abdollahzadeh, Praveen Prasad bt Mohammad Miran Khademi).

Uzbekistan bt Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5 (Timur Gareev bt Marat Alaguzov, Dzhurabek Khamrakulov bt D. Medirbaev, Andrey Kvon lost to D. Issabayev, Jamshid Mustafaev lost to N. Baltabayev); Turkey bt South Africa 4-0 (Apaydin Fethi bt Hendrich Stander, Deruns Berg bt Bernard Venter, Sirin Atakan bt Ian van Vollenhoven, Yildiz Betul Cemre); Australia bt Sri Lanka `E' 4-0 (Vincent Suttor bt D.M.P. Maheshika, Dusan Stojic bt Y. Methmali, James Cronan bt G.J.Y. Lenagala, Ruperto Lugo bt M.M.S.T. Anorathne); India `D' bt Sri Lanka 4-0 (K. Prasanna bt A.G.T.C. Abesingha, Kiran Mohanty bt C. Fernando, P. Karthikeyan bt R. Jinadhasa, K. Narayanan bt M.B. Madugalle); Sri Lanka `A' bt India `F' 4-0 (I.T. Palawatta bt S. Harini, T. De Silva bt V.K. Sindhu, Y.D.B. Madugalle bt Shalmali Gagare, D.M.C. Wijayawardane bt R. Ganesh); Sri Lanka `B' drew with Malaysia 2-2 (D.I.S. Siriwardane drew with Anas Nazreen Bakri, A. Fernando lost to Soon Wai Cheong, M. Jayawardane bt Zarul Shazwan Zulkafli, L. Radil drew with Wan Khye Theng).

The final placings:

1. China 27, 2. Hungary 24, 3. Uzbekistan 22, 4. India `A' 22, 5. India `B' 21, 6. Iran 21, 7. Turkey 20.5, 8. Australia 20, 9. India `E' 20, 10. Kazakshtan 19.5, 11. India `D' 19.5, 12. Sri Lanka `A' 19.5, 13. India `C' 19, 14. Malaysia 17, 15. Sri Lanka `B' 16.5, 16. South Africa 13, 17. Sri Lanka `C' 12, 18. Sri Lanka `D' 11.5, 19. India `F' 8.5, 20. Sri Lanka `E' 6.5.

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